Everybody’s Fool
by maristella002
Summary: “Almost isn’t good enough.” Azula Sozin has lived by this mantra her entire life and always had everything under control. But what happens when suddenly things stop going her way and it seems like the whole world has turned against her? Perhaps the young heiress isn’t as perfect as she thought she was. Modern AU. Sokkla, Zutara, Kainora, Bopal, Yukka, Sukka, Maiko, Kataang
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1: Not So Humble Beginnings**

 _Focus._ She took a deep breath.

 _Land, wipe sleeve, side punch_. _Yes!_ The crowd cheered as she continued her form.

 _Quick stomps, step forward and block_. Receiving another applause, Azula Sozin internally smirked to herself. She was currently performing the Plum Flower - one of the forms of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu she had learned recently - at an international martial arts competition.

The judges were cautiously watching her every move and Azula had to admit she was kind of nervous. But it wasn't the jury that made her heart beat faster than the speed of light. It was her very own father, Ozai Sozin.

He was somewhere in the crowd, probably watching her with hawk eyes and she knew that if she'd make even the slightest mistake, a single slip up, things wouldn't end well for her.

 _Step back, kick twice._

Azula quickly cleared her mind of such thoughts. Why was she even worried about meeting her father's expectations? She was his favorite child, the prodigious daughter. She was not a quitter. But most importantly, she was not _Zuko_. If anyone can do this, it's her.

 _Turn body, straight low kick_. Another applause, Azula acknowledged.

 _Right turn, land, double pointed fists_. And another one.

 _Retreat, open hand, left spear hand and done!_

The crowd cheered loudly as Azula bowed Japanese style and walked off the floor with her head high up, smirking. She knew she could do it.

The cup was heavy but still light enough for Azula to carry it to the locker rooms by herself. Hell, even if it were as heavy as a bag of bricks, she still wouldn't ask anyone to help her carry it. She would figure something out like she always does.

* * *

It felt quite nice taking a shower and getting out of the now sweaty red silk kimono with gold dragon embroidery. Instead, she put on a black tennis skirt and a white blouse with a black bowknot, topping everything off with a red plaid blazer. Her long pale legs were dressed in white sheer stockings. At last, she put black mid-heel Gucci loafers on her feet and swung a large Louis Vuitton bag over her shoulder which was already filled with all of her stuff.

Azula was just fixing her topknot, letting two strands of raven black hair fall over her face, when she felt a firm grip on her shoulder.

She swiftly turned to face the figure gripping her shoulder, already knowing who it was.

"I suppose congratulations are in order." Her father's amber eyes bore into her very soul, an emotionaless expression on his face. He wore a black designer suit, a red satin tie and leather dress shoes.

Azula tried to conceal her nervousness as best as she could. "Are you pleased, father?" Trying to keep her voice steady, she mirrored his expression.

Ozai rubbed his goatee and nodded in response. "Come," he said, starting to walk towards the exit.

Not wanting to stay behind, Azula quickly followed him out of the locker rooms, down the hallway and out in the parking lot. Their chauffeur - whose name Azula never bothered to remember - was waiting for them infront of a black limo.

The chauffeur put Azula's stuff in the trunk as she climbed into the limo after her father. Camel brown leather surrounded her almost completely.

The whole drive was silent as per usual. Her father wasn't one to indulge in meaningless small talk. He wasn't a huge fan of listening to the radio either.

They finally arrived. The chauffeur opened the car door for the both of them. Azula immediately recognized the destination as one of the fancy restaurants, where her family would occasionally dine on the weekends when Zuko and her were kids. But that was a long time ago.

Inside, the waiter led them to a table. As they sat down and ordered drinks, the older Sozin began to speak.

"You did well today, my prodigy," he said without any sign of emotion in his voice, whatsoever.

Azula just barely managed to conceal her surprise. Her father had always expected her to excell at everything she did but never praised her for it.

Well, at least not directly. He did, however, praise her in comparison to her brother Zuko, which was the only reasonable thing for a sensible person to do. The boy was a weakling.

Ozai took a sip of his wine. "That is why I am rewarding you." He slipped his hand into a pocket of his blazer and pulled out a key. He held it out for her to take it.

Azula hesitated for a moment. What was going on? Couldn't he just stop with the shenanigans and get straight to the point?

 _Stop!_ She quickly brought her head out of those thoughts. _Everything father does is for a good reason._

Internally scolding herself for hesitating - hesitation was a sign of insecurity and insecurity lead to weakness - , she took the key in her hand.

It was a Mustang car key, she figured. Father probably decided to finally buy her a car. It was about time, considering she's had her driver's license for over a year. But despite that, the Northern Shaolin champion did not expect this.

She looked up at him, surprise written all over her face. If Ozai was displeased by her unnecessary display of emotion, he didn't show it. "I see you're surprised," he pointed out and Azula quickly changed her expression to a more dignified one. "Did you think I had forgotten about my daughter's birthday coming up?" He arched an eyebrow, his voice anything but sweet.

Azula mentally smacked her forehead. How could she forget about her own birthday? Especially when it was only less than three weeks away. Not wanting to look unsure of herself, Azula gulped and gave him a firm nod. "Thank you, father," was her curt reply.

The rest of the dinner was almost as silent as the car drive. Only the sound of plates clattering and the mild chatter of the eminent guests were able to reach Azula's ears.

* * *

Admittedly, the food was amazing but not very filling. An average person in their right mind wouldn't pay two hundred dollars for a lobster tartine. But the Sozins obviously weren't your average people.

If Azula didn't know better, she would've most likely order a pizza upon arriving at the Sozin estate. But her father always said that pizza is a food for the commoners. Azula wasn't particularly bothered by this, her father knows what's best for her. And besides, good shape is crucial if one wants to master a martial art as complex as Northern Shaolin.

She pushed her cravings aside as she exited the limo with the chauffeur holding the car door open. It was already dark outside but an eye as sharp as Azula's could still see the shape of a cabriolet parked on the side of the vast paver driveway. While most teenagers would most likely be eager to go for a drive in their new car, Azula simply eyed it as she walked right past it.

Inside of the massive mansion, Szofia - her maid - immediately took her bag and went to unpack it. Ozai moved to his office.

Upon entering her large bedroom on the second floor, Azula didn't plop down on her king size bed with red and gold silk coverings like any other person would. For Azula, that would be a sign of laziness and laziness meant being unproductive, which would eventually led to failure. The thought of failing sent chills down her spine.

She strolled over to the spacious walk-in closet and changed out of her day clothes. After tying the sash of her blood red silk robe around her thin waist and stepping into black fur slippers, Azula made her way to the living room and sat down on the dark red leather Chesterfield couch.

"Szofia, get over here _now_!" Azula yelled all of a sudden, while putting on an episode of American Horror Story on the huge plazma TV.

Naturally, the young Hungarian woman in question instantly came running towards the living room. "Yes, Miss Azula?" she asked with a nervous expression.

Azula looked her over. With mousy hair pulled into a dreadful loose bun at the back of her head, a minimal amount of makeup, a white blouse, dark jeans and black knock-off Gucci flats, the twenty-something girl looked like the epitome of misery. Azula hardly resisted a scowl as she ordered the maid to bring her a glass of her favorite Sauvignon.

She did so without question, despite the fact that the Sozin heiress was underage. Szofia feared Azula more than she feared Ozai, which was rational. If she were to offend Ozai, he would simply fire her with a few harsh words and without this month's payment. His daughter, however... Szofia didn't even dare to imagine all the plots Azula would hatch to bring her down, firing her only after she was done tormenting her.

After two episodes of her favorite show, Azula heard the sound of the front door being unlocked and boyish laughter. Groaning, she already had a pretty good idea of who it was.

As always, she was right. The very next moment, her eighteen-year-old brother and three of his friends burst into the drawing room, horse laughing. Azula naturally narrowed her eyes.

When they walked into the living room, their obnoxious laughter died down at the sight of a certain raven-haired girl sitting on the couch with her bare feet on the French coffee table, calmly watching TV while sipping the expensive red wine.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Zuko asked sharply, his tone sounding annoyed as he spoke through clenched teeth. She could practically feel him clenching his fists.

Azula reluctantly put the episode on pause and turned her head to give him a dark look. While Zuko didn't flinch, already being used to that look of hers, the rest of the lot bore nervous expressions, atempting to look at anything but the pair of fiery golden eyes. Azula identified them as members of her high school's football team, whose names she also never bothered to remember.

"Well, I live here of course," she replied, amused by the fact that her presence made Zuko and his friends feel uncomfortable.

The look on Zuko's face told her he had no interest in playing games with his little sister. Sighing dramatically, Azula rolled her eyes as she placed the nearly empty wine glass on the coffee table. "Fine." She put her feet off the table and straightened her back a little more. "If you _must_ know, I'm celebrating."

Zuko's one good eyebrow - the other being gone due to an ugly burn scar, which was covering the majority of the left side of his face - rose in question. "Celebrating?"

"I won the international martial arts competition today," she replied casually, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. " _Again._ " A smirk slid onto her lips upon seeing the dumbfounded expression on her brother's marred face. She knew how much this would upset him. Both of them have been training in Northern Shaolin since they were little - it was sort of a family tradition - but Azula proved to be much more talented than him and had already mastered fourteen more forms.

"Zuko, come on, dude." The guy with tan skin and an undercut ponytail, dressed in a blue Champion hoodie, gripped the sleeve of Zuko's black leather jacket. He glared at the younger girl, whose smirk only grew wider.

With that, the quartet slowly started walking away. But Azula wasn't done. "Oh and Zuzu?" The boys stopped in their tracks, one of them snickering slightly at the nickname. "If you were by any chance confused as to why there's a brand new Mustang parked in the driveway..." She took the last two sips of her wine. "I should inform you that father got it for me as an early birthday present."

Zuko suddenly launched at his sister with a loud grunt. He didn't get far though for the ponytail guy and another olive-skinned guy with a brown mess of slightly longer hair held him back.

But Zuko being Zuko tried to jerk his arms out of his friends' firm grasps - he just never knew when to give up.

"Let it go, Zuko," the lanky boy with a buzz cut said from behind him with an annoyingly calm tone. Azula smiled wickedly at the furious Sozin, being greatly amused by the situation. This only made him angrier, though, as he growled and once again tried to launch at her.

"Bro, she's not worth it!" the ponytail guy exclaimed, pulling him back with more effort. Zuko's stance finally began to relax and his friends let go of him. He glared at his sister, amber eyes still burning with rage. Then he turned around and walked to the drawing room and up the broad winding marble staircase with his peers following behind.

Azula smirked to herself. She absolutely adored tormenting her dumbass of a brother. She put the American Horror Story episode back on play.

"Szofia! Fill me up with some more wine!"


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: Devil Incarnate**

All eyes were glued to the shiny red Mustang as it drove onto the school's parking lot. A girl with a high braided ponytail jumped out of the car cheerfully. Her chestnut hair aside, her outfit was screaming Regina George - beige suede mini skirt, white and pink graphic tank top and a light pink cardigan. The white chunky heels and sheer white stockings gave off Clueless vibes.

"What's with all the doom and gloom, Mai?" she called out in a high-pitched voice. Another girl with long sleek jet black hair reluctantly got out of the cabriolet with a bored sigh. In contrast to her pink-wearing friend, she was entirely dressed in black - a long black side-slit dress, a black leather jacket and black Balenciaga boots. "It's such a beautiful day and your aura is still this dingy, pasty grey," the brunette declared while picking up her white furry backpack from the backseat.

The other girl - Mai - frowned as she pushed her huge black Celine shades higher up her narrow nose. "I don't believe in auras," she replied in her usual monotonous voice.

" _Ty Lee_!" A shrieking voice made the energetic girl freeze. "Will you shut up about your auras already?!" Azula Sozin got up from the driver's seat of her new car, slender eyebrows furrowed in displeasure.

Ty Lee's shoulders slumped at the harsh words but Azula couldn't care less. Her friend was always yammering on about auras and it could get quite annoying, really.

The youngest member of the Sozin family looked flawless as usual. She was wearing white and black plaid tuxedo pants and a white polo shirt. She styled it with a pair of red Louboutin pumps and a red Birkin bag. Raven black hair was pulled into her signature topknot with two loose strands falling over her aristocratic facial features.

Feeling all eyes on her was nothing unusual for Azula. It was obvious that students would want to look at 'the most beautiful, smartest, perfect girl at school' as Ty Lee liked to put it.

The trio made their way down the schoolyard and entered the building. The hallway was packed with all sorts of people. Nerds running to class in distress, jocks cracking dumb jokes and roaring with laughter, cheerleaders gossiping by the lockers, misfits awkwardly standing in various corners...

Azula's eyes narrowed as she spotted a couple devouring each other's faces right infront of her locker. _Disgusting!_ She moved to stand awfully close to the pair and waited patiently with her arms crossed.

It took a few moments before they noticed the figure overshadowing them. Upon seeing Azula's seething amber eyes, the olive-skinned girl with a bob in a green floral summer dress flushed in embarrassment. "W-We're sorry," she stuttered. "We didn't realize this was your locker."

"I'm going to give you three seconds to depart. One." Her face expression was plain as she spoke in a calm tone. "Two."

The couple's eyes widened in terror and the girl quickly grabbed the sleeve of her paralyzed boyfriend's green varsity jacket and dragged him away. "Three." Azula rolled her eyes and was finally able to reach her tidy locker.

* * *

Classes were boring as usual. Azula has already studied the majority of the stuff they were currently learning. Unlike most kids her age, she always made sure to stay ahead in all of her classes and maintain her academic prowess.

People tried to talk to her on multiple occasions, obviously forgetting the fact that she never actually gave them the permission to speak to her.

Boring classes and annoying classmates aside, Azula _did_ enjoy her free period taunting Zuko, who - unfortunately for him - had it at the same time as her.

But like all good things, her free period slowly started coming to an end. Not one to be tardy, Azula headed off to her next class after getting herself a cup of Turkish coffee from the coffee machine. There were five minutes left until the bell rings, so the hallway was naturally empty.

" _Whoa_!"

As she rounded a corner, her head hit a hard chest, spilling the content of her cup all over the other person's shirt. Azula scowled in utter annoyance and furious golden eyes shot up to glare at the obvious cause of the incident, prepared to give them a mouthful.

However, she was met by a familiar face. The tan skin was nicely complimented by eyes as blue as the sea. The person even smelled like the ocean, mixed with Old Spice and... _chicken wings_? Azula's scowl only grew bigger at the sight of one of Zuko's dumbass friends.

"Oh... It's you." The ponytail guy seemed to be mirroring her expression. Then he gasped - a bit too dramatically for Azula's taste - at the large coffee stain on his white slim V-neck t-shirt, face turning slightly red in anger. Taking a step back, he looked at her with wide eyes, mouth agape. "Look what you did!" he squeaked in a mix of horror and disbelief while pointing at his shirt. "This is brand new, you know!"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Azula sighed. "You should be on your knees, _thanking_ me." Upon noticing his confused frown, she felt she needed to elaborate. "Because of _me_ , it now matches the rest of your peasantry demeanor," she spoke with her signature smirk gracing her features.

The tan-skinned guy was clearly offended, considering his shocked expression. With a roll of his eyes, he started grumbling to himself in distress while rubbing the stain on the shirt.

Rolling her eyes for what seemed to be like the thirtieth time today, Azula flicked the now empty coffee cup at him. It bounced off his bent head and landed right at his feet. With that, she rounded him and started to walk towards her respectable destination.

"Mister Sokka Waters!"

She didn't have to turn around to know that it was Ms Burke, her Biology teacher, who yelled at the guy - Sokka was his name, apparently - for littering on school grounds. He's about to witness one hell of a long preach about ecology and - to Azula's delight - deserving punishment, no doubt.

The young heiress smirked to herself as she heard Sokka let out a loud grunt of desperation.

* * *

"No, no, _no_!"

Mai moved to pause POP/STARS by K/DA as the cheerleaders stopped with their routine.

"You with the silly pigtails!" Azula pointed her long sharp nail at one of the cheerleaders. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I, umm..." The girl appeared to be frightened by Azula's harsh attitude and began playing with the hem of her skirt. All the girls were sporting cheerleading uniforms: a shell and a skirt, both in the colors of their school - green, gold and white - , paired with white Fila trainers.

"Well?!" Azula was growing impatient. "Spit it out! I don't have all day!" Unlike other girls, she wore a white long-sleeved turtle-neck bodysuit underneath the shell and had a gold ribbon tied around her high ponytail, which was a temporary replacement for her topknot for the sake of cheer practice.

The girl with pigtails hesitated for a moment longer. "The routine..." she spoke shyly. "I was doing the routine."

Azula snorted and subconsciously rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can _see_ that... But _how_ were you doing it?" she queried.

The girl visibly gulped. "I-I guess I was a little loose..."

" _A little_?!" Her shriek echoed all over the gym, startling some people at the other side of it. Azula flounced to the terrified cheerleader. " _Almost isn't good enough_!" she said through clenched teeth, glaring at the girl.

After internally counting to five to calm herself a bit, the cheer captain strolled back to her original post with a smug grin. She straightened her already great posture and clasped her hands behind her back. "I know some of you are new to the varsity team and are unaware of my ways. So let me break it down to you," she spoke in a calm, yet menacing tone as she started walking slowly along the formation. "This crew will be _swift_ and _precise_. You will give it your all in order to achieve absolute perfection. No distractions!" She randomly stopped infront of a girl with bushy unkempt brown hair, who tried her best to look anywhere butAzula's murderous golden eyes. "And if I sense any disloyalty, any hesitation, any weakness at all, I will _snuff it out_!" She moved back to her spot again. "That is all." Her last words were calm and collected.

At this point, the cheer practice was over so the girls started slowly retreating to the locker rooms in dead silence.

* * *

"Wow, Azula!" Ty Lee exclaimed on their way to the young Sozin's new cabriolet. "You were _so_ great today! I think you really inspired the whole team!" She threw her arms in the air and smiled gleefully.

Azula was about to roll her eyes at the pink-wearing girl when she spotted a certain scarred figure, standing near a white beat-up jeep with a few of his loser friends. Her red lips formed into a smirk as she strode over to her brother.

Upon the site of his evil sister coming towards him, Zuko frowned. "What do you want?!" He was glaring at her, arms crossed over his chest. The thought of Zuko finding her presence so disturbing only made Azula's smirk grow wider.

"You're not getting a ride home in _that_ , are you?" The younger sibling jerked her head towards the old-looking jeep.

Zuko looked embarrassed, which, frankly, only confirmed Azula's suspicion. "How disappointing." Sighing, she went on to half-heartedly inspect her nails. "Father will _not_ be pleased if he sees you in this... _thing_..." She grimaced in disgust.

Zuko opened his mouth to say something but Azula - like always - beat him to it. "Of course, you could always have _me_ give you a ride." She didn't miss his surprised reaction to her proposal. "After all, we _do_ live in the same house."

Her older brother seemed confused, yet intrigued and seemed to be making a decision in his head.

"Well, Zuzu? What's it going to be?"

"I don't know..." His voice was so full of insecurity it almost made Azula sick. "I'm not sure..."

"It's your decision." This charade was starting to irritate her. "Tick tock!"

His frown deepened as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Zuko wasn't that indecisive when it came to casual everyday activities. But this was important to him. He was already a huge disappointment in his father's eyes, which is why he had to be careful, for daddy dearest was cautiously watching his every move. If Zuko gave him the tiniest of reasons to get angry, he would most likely throw him out on the streets, empty his savings account, send him to a military school,... Yes, Ozai had zero problems with making his only son's life a living hell.

That reason was good enough for taking Azula up on the offer, right? No, of course it wasn't. Despite being a disgrace to their eminent family, Zuko was not stupid. He knew better than anyone that his baby sister is _not_ to be trusted. She always lies and never does anything unless it benefits her. Who knows what kind of scheme she was trying to pull on him this time? That was also a good reason for _not_ accepting the offer.

Azula knew exactly what was going on in her brother's head and had the perfect antidote for it. "Oh, well..." She turned on her heel with a deep sigh. "I'm sure Uncle Fuddy-Duddy would be more than happy to let you stay at that squalid shed of his," she spoke as if she were bored but Azula was far from bored at the moment. Playing with Zuko's weak mind was a true jouissance to her.

Zuko flinched at the remark. Their uncle Iroh Sozin lived in an average-sized apartment - calling it a shed was just Azula being Azula - in downtown. Below the apartment was his renowned tea shop The Jasmine Dragon, where Zuko would occasionally work on weekends. Azula despised him, of course. He was a quitter and a loser just like his dear nephew.

"Wait."

Azula turned to take a look at her brother. His eyes were closed and he bore a look of defeat. Smirking slightly, Azula waved for him to follow her to the red Mustang parked on the other side of the parking lot. Zuko followed her like a dog on a leash while Mai and Ty Lee waited by the car.

"Yo, Zuko!" A voice called once they were halfway across the parking lot. "Where are you going, man?!"

Azula's eye twitched. Zuko tried to look at the voice in question but she grabbed hold of the sleeve of his black leather jacket. "I gave you a _choice_ and you _made it_!" she hissed in his ear.

In the next moment, someone ran right infront of them, prompting the siblings to stop. It was the same lanky boy with a buzz cut from that night Zuko brought his friends over. He was wearing an oversized yellow Thrasher t-shirt, light-washed denim shorts and white Nike trainers. He might have been dressed age-appropriately but the goofy smile and wide-open brown eyes made him appear like a twelve-year-old child, waiting to open presents on Christmas day.

"Aren't you coming with us, Zuko?" Even his voice sounded like one of a twelve-year-old. Azula was already annoyed by his very presence.

Zuko gulped. "I, ugh..."

With a roll of her eyes, Azula cut him off. "He's coming with me." She crossed her arms and stared at the boy haughtily.

The boy seemed taken aback. "But you… dislike her...˝ Now, that was an understatement, Azula was convinced. It's no secret that her loathsome brother has been _hating_ her since the day she was born. This goofy kid was clearly trying to sugar-coat it.

Azula sighed dramatically. ˝Alright, I've had enough of this charade.˝ Before Zuko could change his mind, Azula pulled on his sleeve and started dragging him to her car. ˝Goodbye!˝ she yelled to the stunned boy behind her back.

As they sat in the car – Ty Lee in the passenger seat, Mai and Zuko in the back and Azula behind the wheel – the younger Sozin sibling adjusted her rear-view mirror. ˝So, Zuzu,˝ she started with a tiny smirk sliding onto her lips. ˝I couldn't help but overhear some of my cheer team members talking about a party tonight…˝ It was true. Apparently some person named Bolin Tyrell was throwing a huge party at his house. Azula usually skipped on such ill-advised time-wasting events but this time she had other plans.

˝Yeah, what of it?˝ Zuko questioned and Azula could see him tense up in the mirror. She continued to observe him carefully as she started the car.

˝Who's your date?˝ she asked, pretending to be interested in his personal affairs. On her right, Ty Lee tried to suppress a giggle. Mai was scrolling through her phone with an eternal phlegmatic face.

Zuko's eyebrow shot up in surprise. ˝Oh, umm, well…˝ He started scratching the back of his neck. ˝I… haven't actually thought about that…˝

˝Oh, what a coincidence!˝ Azula exclaimed with fake excitement. ˝Mai hasn't either!˝ Her plan was going perfect. Not that she ever doubted it. Every plan of hers turns out perfect.

Mai looked up from her phone as Ty Lee clapped her hands. ˝Oh, my gosh! You guys _have_ to go together!˝ she enthused with a bright smile decorating her child-like features.

Zuko and Mai exchanged looks. Zuko appeared more confused than anything else, while Mai was frowning in displeasure. But her friends know her better than to assume that she would ever oppose to the idea of being Zuko Sozin's date to some party.

You see, Mai and Zuko were childhood sweethearts. Kind off. They never officially dated but Mai had a huge crush on Azula's older brother back when they were kids. They even kissed once during a game of Spin The Bottle when they were in middle school. Ever since then, Azula and Ty Lee tried to get them together. For both of their sakes. Azula knew that father would certainly not approve of his only son dating some middle class tramp. With Mai's father being one of Ozai's closest business associates, they were the perfect match for each other.

˝Then it is settled!˝ Azula smiled at the pair in the back and sped up. ˝Mai, my brother will pick you up at nine. Sharp.˝ She saw Zuko shrug at Mai.

I Love It by Kanye West was playing on the radio as the shiny red cabriolet drove down the road at high speed and Azula mentally congratulated herself on another successfully executed master plan.


End file.
